CVE-2026-53571
Received Received - Intake
Path Traversal in Vite Dev Server on Windows

Publication date: 2026-06-22

Last updated on: 2026-06-22

Assigner: GitHub, Inc.

Description
Vite is a frontend tooling framework for JavaScript. Prior to 8.0.16, 7.3.5, and 6.4.3, the contents of files that are specified by server.fs.deny can be returned to the browser on Windows. Vite’s dev server denies direct access to sensitive files through server.fs.deny, including entries such as .env, .env.*, and *.{crt,pem}. However, on Windows, the deny logic does not correctly normalize NTFS ADS path forms before access checks are applied. Because of this, requests such as /.env::$DATA?raw are treated as allowed paths, while Windows resolves them to the original file's default data stream. Similar to that, Windows allows accessing a file using a different name with the 8.3 short name compatibility feature. Vite did not reject accessing files via them. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.0.16, 7.3.5, and 6.4.3.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-06-22
Last Modified
2026-06-22
Generated
2026-06-23
AI Q&A
2026-06-22
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-53571
EUVD
EUVD-2026-38303
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 7 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
vitejs vite 8.0.16
vitejs vite 7.3.5
vitejs vite 6.4.3
vitejs vite to 6.4.3 (exc)
vitejs vite to 7.3.4 (exc)
vitejs vite to 8.0.15 (exc)
vitejs vite-plus to 0.1.23 (exc)
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-22 The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
CWE-200 The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.
Attack-Flow Graph
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Executive Summary

This vulnerability affects the Vite frontend tooling framework on Windows systems. It allows attackers to bypass the server.fs.deny security feature, which is designed to block access to sensitive files like .env and certificate files. The bypass occurs because Vite does not correctly handle Windows-specific file path features such as NTFS Alternate Data Streams (ADS) and the 8.3 short name compatibility. Attackers can craft requests using these features (e.g., /.env::$DATA?raw) to access sensitive file contents that should be denied.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information stored in files that are supposed to be protected by Vite's server.fs.deny feature. Since no privileges or user interaction are required, an attacker can remotely access sensitive configuration files such as environment variables (.env) or security certificates (.pem), potentially exposing secrets, credentials, or private keys. This can compromise the security of your application and infrastructure.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by attempting to access sensitive files through alternate NTFS paths that bypass the server.fs.deny rules in Vite. For example, on a Windows system running a vulnerable Vite dev server, you can try accessing files using NTFS Alternate Data Streams (ADS) or 8.3 short names.

  • Attempt to access sensitive files like `.env` or `.pem` using URLs such as `/.env::$DATA?raw` or `/tls.pem::$DATA?raw` in the browser or via HTTP requests to the Vite dev server.
  • Check for access via 8.3 short names by resolving the short name of a sensitive file and attempting to access it through that name in the URL.

These tests can be performed using curl or similar HTTP clients to send requests to the Vite dev server and observe if the contents of sensitive files are returned.

Mitigation Strategies

The immediate mitigation step is to upgrade Vite to a fixed version: 8.0.16 or later, 7.3.5 or later, or 6.4.3 or later, depending on your current version.

Additionally, restrict access to the Vite dev server so it is not exposed to untrusted networks, especially if sensitive files are present in allowed directories.

Consider disabling 8.3 short name generation on NTFS volumes if possible, to reduce the risk of bypass via short names.

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